Upping the Luxe Factor for Condé Nast’s Traveler

cnt-coverCondé Nast’s Traveler magazine has always been a classy title, full of exotic images and compelling travel content. And now, they want to be a “coffee-table mainstay” for true travel aficionados, Aria Hughes reports in WWD.

“The September issue will mark the debut of what [editor-in-chief Pilar] Guzmán is calling a more luxurious product,” Hughes writes. “The magazine’s trim size has increased by two inches, the interior pages feature more white space and the paper stock is slightly thicker.”

With this move they join the ranks of noted titles that are embracing print’s luxury status, and solidifying their position as a lifestyle title, not simply a travel mag.

“We always talk about this idea of who do you want to be on vacation,” Guzmán told WWD. “I think that our industry has been a little bit behind in knitting together lifestyle categories. It’s less about the act of travel and more about tapping into passion points that fall under the umbrella of travel.”

The print title is also less about broad appeal, and more defined in drawing the line between their print and digital content.

“We are prying print and digital apart,” Guzman told WWD.

“The experience of reading a magazine is a luxurious experience. You curl up in your reading nook with a magazine and we know that our issues are dog-eared and kept for years. We felt like the increase in size is a reflection of all of these things,” she continued.

“In making this change, we are making a clear delineation in the marketplace that the magazine is for the person who’s taking seven or more foreign trips a year. That’s very different from someone who is just coming to our Web site and planning a family vacation,” said publisher Bill Wackermann to WWD.

Judging by the latest numbers, it’s all working. The page count is much bigger (up 20% over last year), and digital readership on site continues to swell. Win win.

Tuck this one in your carry-on for your next flight. It’s travel content done right.